As 2014 ended, did the world see releasing a movie as an“act of war”? Usually, governments use this label towards retaliations of hostile crimes, acts of genocide towards certain groups, or malicious words of downgrading or hurt. These words are not usually associated with movies, but in fact it was a movie that possibly stood as a 21st century marker of government against government.
Some view Sony’s actions of taking the movie out of theaters due to bomb threats as cowardice or that they believe that by not screening the movie they over exaggerated and that the threat was nothing more than a small warning that was not going to do any damage. George R.R Martin, the author of the prominent book Game of Thrones states that The level of corporate cowardice here astonishes me. It’s a good thing these guys weren’t around when Charlie Chaplin made THE GREAT DICTATOR. If Kim Jong-Un scares them, Adolf Hitler would have had them shitting in their smallclothes.” I believe that is offensive to Sony and to viewers that were wanting to see this movie. I also believe that Martin is way out of whack. This author is suggesting that the supposedly North Korean threat was not serious and that if that scares Sony than the actions of pulling the movie is cowardice. First of all I dont believe that Sony was scared. I believe they pulled the movie so the viewers did not have to worry about being seriously injured while watching a comedy. And I believe it to be offensive that George R.R Martin and many others would even consider insulting the integrity of a large corporation who was just trying to look out for their viewers.
Another thing that I find insulting from these “hate tweets/comments” is that Martin and many others attempt to underestimate the power of this notorious empire. Just because this empire may be small and might not have the same impact as Nazi germany. I understand that Nazi Germany may be one of the worst acts of genocide ever committed and I am not trying to underestimate it. All I am saying is that the acts of small threats by small countries do make an impact. Throughout history many countries have been harmed by these threats by small countries. One of the most terrifying acts of attacking America is by a country or unit that isnt making just as big of an impact as Nazi germany. One of those can be 9/11. This is one of the most malicious terrorism acts on America. So I dont believe that these actions are not significant and threats should be taken seriously.
However I believe that the acts of Sony pictures pulling the movie was bold and smart. Putting safety in front of surplus for the company is something that stood out to me. As I said earlier the interview made about 31 million dollars the amount of money it took to make the interview is astronomically less and is a loss of about 10 million dollars. Multi-million dollar companies are not known for deliberately make actions that would lose money. Sony pictures made the bold move to avoid the risk of bomb threats and innocent people injured by screening the expensive and prominent movie.These acts by sony pictures were definitely justified in my mind. The belief of safety as a priority over money is something that I believe is morally brave. These actions release fear from viewers that would make Sony pictures viewed as a company that is willing to put people before profit.
Some have suggested the entire story was an undercover PR student to gain publicity for the film which is outrageous that people think this way due to the interview losing money. if sony had an undercover student or conspiracy to publicise the movie it wouldn’t have made sense because of how much money Sony has lost from this movie.
Therefore people should stop criticizing these actions because Sony was just taking viewers safety into account